All You Need is a Watch - R. Yaakov Moskowitz - TorahAnytime.com

You know, a number of years back when I was in Eretz Yisrael, some friends of mine and I went to go visit with Rav Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg. And there was a question-and-answer session that was going on. And the first question that was asked was, "Can anyone in Klal Yisrael become a gadol?" And Rav Scheinberg said, "Yes." He said, "You just need one thing. You need a watch." We all thought, "What? A watch? Why a watch to become a gadol?" And he explained because when a person has a watch and they really use their watch, they're intentional about their time and in turn they use that time wisely to do what it is that Hashem wants them to do on a daily basis. And he said that that person is on their way to becoming a gadol. Such an important concept if we want to live life to its fullest, to be intentional about our time, utilize our Google calendars. What do I want to be doing today? What do I want to be doing from 10:00 a.m. till 12:00 p.m.? If it's work, then what jobs am I specifically looking to accomplish during that time? What do I want to accomplish between 6:00 and 7:00 p.m.? If we're assuming that that's family time, so what are my goals with my family during that time? What am I trying to accomplish to build during those moments that we call supper, homework, or whatever it is that is happening during that time? You know, very often people say that I got distracted by my phone, by my computer, by other people talking to me. But the definition of a distraction is something that takes you away from the thing that you actually were intending to do. And we have to ask ourselves, "What was I really intending to do during that time that I got distracted from?" And we need to be able to answer that question. And if we are intentional and we know consciously what it is that we really are looking to accomplish, whether it be in our learning, whether it be in our davening, whether it be in our work, whether it be with our relationships, with our spouse, with our kids, or with other people, but what am I looking to do during this time?